June 15, 2005
Godspell features familiar faces
Traverse City professional theater company taps area graduates
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Ten area graduates will add professional theater company experience to their resumes this summer, thanks to Miracle Productions' staging of "Godspell".
Launching a 12-show run on weekends from June 30-July 23, "Godspell" will feature faces familiar to Traverse City as the cast comprises West and Central High School graduates plus an Elk Rapids High School graduate.
Not to mention they all are triple threats, as producer/director Pat Gallagher terms her crop of home-grown talent.
"All of these kids can sing, dance and act," said Gallagher, a veteran of many high school musical production who is also an eighth-grade teacher at West Junior High. "They are the crŠme de la crŠme."
The cast features West High School graduates Amy Bauman (04), Megan Madison (05), Breanna Newton (02), Khaki Pixley (04), Jennifer Smith (04), Steve Wood (05) and Kent Wood (03). Weighing in from Central High School are Brian Cheaton (05) and Brian Holden (04), with Jay Schumacher, a 2005 graduate of Elk Rapids High School, rounding out the line up.
Gallagher invited students she wanted to work with to audition with her newly formed production company, an idea she has been nurturing for five years. She chose a mix of personalities for the show to reflect the ensemble nature of the cast.
"I wanted this mix of personalities because everyone in the audience will be able to identify with someone on stage because Jesus came to build a community among us and we're all very diverse," noted Gallagher, who encouraged cast members to help design their own costumes.
Serendipity led Newton, an opera major at Western Michigan University, to join the cast: she ran into Gallagher at Menard's and learned of the audition. Newton is thrilled to return to musical theater and enhance her performing repertoire. While the acting is similar between musicals and opera, Newton said that the singing style is different.
"It's good to have a professional theater company on my resume and as an opera major, it is good to do a little musical theater and jazz," added Newton, who was in a local production of "Footloose" a few years ago. "It makes me a better performer and more well rounded."
Brian Cheaton is relatively new to the musical theater world. Having immersed himself in theater at Central, he held a secondary lead role for the school's production of "Beauty and the Beast" last fall. With plans to study theater next fall at Central Michigan University, Cheaton is still somewhat surprised to find himself singing on stage. The challenge with musicals, he noted, is that the stories move at a fast pace.
"Musicals are fun but acting is my first calling," Cheaton said. "I think musicals are a blast because you do get to move around a lot more."
In addition to the resume boost, getting to work with friends, former classmates and people who are consumed with the same passion is - hands down - a great way to spend the summer.
"It's really fun to be involved with people who are so enthusiastic about it," said Brian Holden, who is a musical theater major at the University of Michigan.
Gallagher is determined to bring future professional musical productions to Traverse City, using local talent every summer for the cast. She hopes to stage two pieces next year. From the looks of this year's line up, casting should be the easy part of the process.
"These two high schools produce musicians, what Russ [Larimer] and Jeff [Cobb] do with these kids is amazing," she said, praising the two schools' choral directors. "If I can use this premier local talent, who are already coming home to live with their families in the summer_ This area has such a supply of wonderful, wonderful kids"
Gallagher chose "Godspell" for her inaugural production for three reasons: it's a joyous, upbeat musical perfect for summertime, it can draw a large audience while being appropriate for children and it has a message she wants to share.
"Which is living together in peace and harmony in a community, no matter what your religion is," she said.
"Godspell" will run at the Milliken Auditorium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 on the following dates: June 30, July 1 and 2; July 7, 8, and 9; July 14, 15 and 16; July 21, 22 and 23. For ticket information, call the Milliken box office at 995-1553 or visit the website www.miracleproductionstc. com.